In the mysore room, practitioners trickle in at the start of class. When the first row fills before the class officially starts, it often becomes one of those full-power kind of practice days.
Somehow, these early students set the pace, they warm the room, they get it going: a flow in which all the later currents can just pour into. And the studio, most of the time, fills–I think, attracted by the power of practice already brewing in the building.
It’s Sunday. We start mysore practice with Suryanamaskara A. Most of the time we forget the meaning of the things we do automatically. We confuse the series of postures as a warm-up–and it is, though somewhat different from what we think we are doing.
We do warm the body, we warm it as we bow to the light of the sun. We melt away the layers that need melting.
We wake from the winter morning, and rise to the springtime of our day. We grow. So that we may enjoy the warmth of summer and later harvest the fruits of our labor, before the sun goes down again, and the cycle starts all over.
Everyday, we move through the seasons. In our practice, in our lives.
The practice is the practice for our practice.
It’s a beautiful dance, this practice. There are multiple partners. You and your breath. You and the space around you. You and the teacher. You and those practicing beside or near you. You and the entire room. That’s how expansive it is…
I was walking around the room and looked back to see the dips and peaks, waves and crescents, constantly moving in a steady rhythm, formed by today’s mysore class practitioners. It looked so familiar. The words that came to me was: “a sea of love.”
“If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm” –Frank Lane
Early Monday morning, a typhoon blustered through Osaka. I cycled in the rain to the studio and wondered if anyone else would make it. 6:30 rolled around, nada. 6:45. Then Yuki arrived. Later Yukako. Then Naoko and Ricki. A small room, but steady energy. With flood waters up and some train routes stalled, It was understandable that many were absent. By the time mysore practice was done, so was the storm. The sun had come out, all bright and shiny.
Photograph: Yuki in purvottanasana.
“The power of a movement lies in the fact that it can indeed change the habits of people. This change is not the result of force but of dedication, of moral persuasion.”
-Stephen Biko
South African Political Leader
Storm signals were up this morning, yet students still filled the room. Practice is always best when performed with love and dedication. So grateful to be in such dedicated company.
Comes in all shapes, sizes and experiences…
Mysore class, Spirit Yoga, Osaka this morning.
It’s 6am at Spirit Yoga Osaka. A good half hour before class officially starts and I open my eyes from sitting to see the early birds starting.
one love yoga 